Lowball Rules

With a couple of exceptions, the rules and procedures for Lowball - whether Deuce-to-Seven or Ace-to-Five -- are the same as in Five-Card Draw. The main difference, of course, is that in Lowball, the lowest-ranked hand wins the pot at showdown.

Betting Structures

All versions of Lowball, like Five-Card Draw, can be played with antes, blinds, or both. The most common form of card room Lowball is to play with a small blind and a big blind. Sometimes even three blinds are used. Some local rules fatten the pot with antes as well.

In single-draw lowball, as in conventional five-card draw, there are only two betting rounds and one draw. No opponent's cards are ever revealed during play. As a result, action can be slow. By using blinds and antes, the house is trying to help to get things going early.

Lowball can be played in a Limit version (including Spread Limit) or in a Pot Limit or No Limit version. The use of blinds means, of course, that players must fold, call or raise on the first betting round. They can't simply check.

In Limit Lowball, raises are restricted to either three or four per round. Four raises is much more common in single-draw Lowball than in other games, so it is always important to check the House Rules. Usually the restrictions on the number of raises are either relaxed or abandoned in Pot Limit and No Limit Lowball.

Card room betting practices can vary widely. For example, under one set of rules, a player may stay in the game by merely calling the big blind (similar to Hold'em). In other card rooms, however, a player must raise the big blind (or call someone else's raise) in order to stay in the game.

Draw Structures

As implied by the names "Draw" and "Triple Draw," game variations can be offered that permit just one draw and two rounds of betting (just as in Five-Card Draw), or three draws and four rounds of betting (with a rhythm more like that of a Hold'em game).

In Single Draw the betting size doubles in the second round. In Triple Draw the betting size doubles in the third round. Rules specify that a player can draw from zero to five cards on each draw opportunity.

In single draw Lowball, five players can sit and play with maximum draws without exhausting a deck. In triple draw, that number limit is just three. Normally, however, six to eight players can be seated at the table. It is not unusual for more than half the table to hang in the game until the draw, as there is always a chance of sloughing the worst high cards and of undoing pairs. But at the draw it is somewhat unusual for a player to ask for more than three cards. Recall that the objective is not to have the hand improve, so the draws are minimal - just enough to offload the bad cards. Every drawn card represents the risk of spoiling the hand. So in single draw Lowball, with seven at the table, it is possible to run a little short of cards, but it will be unusual. In triple draw, with a reasonable number of players, running out of cards happens fairly often. In any such case, the dealer gathers all the mucked cards, reshuffles and re-burns, and then recycles.

The dealing practice in both varieties (as stated in the rules) is a player wanting up to four cards may receive them consecutively. If a fifth card is also desired, it is dealt after all the other players have received their draws (up to four cards) and then the fifth card is dealt. If the player requesting five cards is the last player, a card is burned between the fourth and fifth card. House rules may modify this procedure to limit draws to four.

Goofs in the Deal

Exposed Cards. Exposed cards can be a problem. If a player purposefully exposes a card, that player's hand is dead. The player forfeits all blinds and antes. If a card is exposed by accident, say in a deal or a draw (whether discards or new cards), special rules apply:

• In Ace-to-Five Lowball, before the draw, any exposed low card (A through 5) must be taken and any other card must be replaced after conclusion of the deal. The exposed card becomes the burn card.
• In Deuce-to-Seven Lowball, before the draw, any exposed low card (2 though 7 but not 6) must be taken and any other card must be replaced after conclusion of the deal. The exposed card becomes the burn card.
• After the draw, any exposed card must be replaced after all other draws have been completed.

Wrong Number of Cards. A hand with any number of cards other than five can not be played. If the problem is before the draw, and the hand is short, the dealer can make up the missing cards, for so long as no action has occurred. (Action before the deal is concluded does not count.) The dealer hand may be completed with a fifth card even after action has been taken. If action has been taken, the hand can be completed at the time of the draw. After a draw, if a player's hand does not contain exactly five cards, it is a fouled hand and disqualified from play. If, before the draw, the number of cards dealt to a player is more than five, a misdeal must be declared.

Changing the Draw

A player may change the number of cards requested for so long as no card has been dealt from the deck in response to that player's request and no player has acted by betting or asking for a specific number of cards.

Asking for Draw Information

Any player is entitled to be informed of the number of draw cards requested by another player, up to the point of the first action after the draw. In that interval, if asked, the dealer must answer, and the player must respond truthfully. After that interval is closed by post-draw action, the dealer is required not to answer such a question. Players may respond to the question, but are not obliged to do so. Players are never entitled to provide an inaccurate response.

Gestures and Declarations

Tapping the Table. A tap on the table when it is a player's turn to act can mean one of two things: In a betting round it is a check or a pass. In a draw situation it means the hand is pat and no cards are requested. Nervous tapping of the table at random is a really dangerous habit.

Miscalled Hands. A player's understatement of the value of a hand is not binding. "Cards Speak." The true value of the hand prevails. The player is not penalized for the misstatement. However, if by misstating the value of the hand a player causes some other player to foul his or her own hand, then the hand is dead. (Foul means to muck the cards so that the contents of the hand can not be recovered.) If the hands are intact, the better hand wins. A player is not allowed to overstate the value of a hand. In a multi-player pot, an overstated hand is dead. There is really no excuse for running into trouble with this rule. The wisest course of action is (1) hold on to your hand until everyone who must showdown has done so and the dealer has declared a winner, and (2) keep your mouth closed at this moment, so the cards speak for themselves. If you have a pair, you have to say "pair." But other than that, any other utterance is folly.

Declaration of a Pair. This rule is unique to lowball. It does not exist in Five-Card Draw. It is an exception to the advice in the previous rule to keep quiet during showdowns. A hand containing a pair must be declared at showdown to have the pair. The reason is that another player may not see the pair, and think the hand is a winner. This might cause such a player to foul his or her hand, even though it was really a better hand.